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Welcome, fellow genealogists! My blog will teach you about U.S. land records and United Kingdom research. My family has roots in Niagara County, New York; Norfolk, England; and northeast Germany.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Wisdom Wednesday: Brett Family and Non-Conformity, Part 1

At the beginning of the summer, I decided to explore the non-Anglican religions in Norfolk, England to see if my family in the market town of Swaffham might be involved. Because they were agricultural laborers and thus, poorer, they might have a tendency to join one of the newer sects, before or after they immigrated to the U.S. and Australia. In the chart below, I summarized the results by listing my GGGrandfather, Thomas BRETT, and his five daughters, including my great grandmother, Eliza:

Name

Baptisms & Marriages-

Norfolk,
England

Religion
as Older Adult-UK/USA/Australia

Thomas Brett, father

Church
of England

Universalist

Sarah Brett Blyth (UK)

Church of England

Church of England

Rachel Brett Barker

Church
of England

Universalist?

Hannah Brett Parsons

Church of England

Methodist

Susan Brett Griffin

(Australia)

Church
of England/Particular Baptist

Church
of England/ Wesleyan

Eliza Brett Lewis

Church of England

Methodist

While living in England, all six
family members were baptized and married in the COE. Susan BRETT was baptized
in the COE, but then married in the Particular Baptist chapel. The five who left
the UK were active and buried with rites of non-conformist denominations.

Thomas BRETT married Martha
HAYLETT in Great Dunham, NFK on 8 Dec 1823 in the Church of England (COE) parish
church. They lived in Swaffham where Thomas had grown up and had 7 children
baptized in the COE parish church: Sarah (1824), Rachel (1826), Hannah (1829),
Susan (1832), Thomas (1835), Eliza (1837), and James (1839). Martha HAYLETT
BRETT died in 1850, and her burial is recorded in the COE register. The three
eldest daughters married in the COE church in Swaffham.

James’ birth, Martha’s death and
the three girls weddings happened after civil registration began so the fact
that the events are recorded in the COE registers may be evidence that they were faithful COE members at those times. According to the 1851 Religious Census, there were
non-conformist groups to participate in, if they had an inclination.

On the other hand, between 1754
and 1837 all marriages had to occur in the COE to be recognized. This would
include Thomas BRETT’s marriage to Martha HAYLETT in 1823. The COE was
reluctant to marry people who had not been baptized in the church. The
daughters may have been baptized in the COE to avoid future problems.

Then Susan BRETT married
Allen GRIFFIN on 5 Mar 1854 at the Particular Baptist Chapel in Swaffham, the
first documented evidence that I have found that anyone in the family had
non-conformist tendencies. This couple emigrated to Australia in 1855, declaring
themselves as Baptists on the ship’s manifest. However, the baptisms of their
many children are recorded in the Wesleyan and two Anglican churches. The
ministers at Susan and Allen’s funerals were listed as Wesleyan and Methodist
respectively.

Who were the Particular Baptists: Baptists are set apart
from other protestant groups because they believe in adult baptism by
immersion. An Englishman founded this religion while in the Netherlands. One of
his followers came back to London and established the first Baptist chapel
there in 1612. About twenty years later, there was a split – one group was
called the General Baptists and the other the Particular Baptists. The latter
sect put a greater emphasis on predestination.

By 1851, the Particular Baptist Chapel in Swaffham, NFK was on White Cross
Lane in its own separate building. Founded in 1823, it had Sunday Schools in
two other locations.

Thomas Sr., Thomas Jr., Eliza,
James, Hannah and her husband, John PARSONS, and her children arrived in the
United States in 1854. Thomas Sr. died in upstate New York on 11 March 1875.
The funeral was held two days later at the Universalist Church at North Ridge,
Niagara, NY, and he was buried in a community cemetery behind the church, a
second incidence of non-conformity.

It is in the lives of Thomas’
children, especially his five daughters that the religious diversity is further
illustrated. His oldest daughter, Sarah BRETT, is the one exception. She
married William BLYTH or BLIGH in Swaffham, remained in England, and seemed to
record events in the Church of England records throughout her life. Her first
husband’s burial and her remarriage were recorded in the parish register also.

Note: This family’s immigration and religious beliefs are the subject of
two future blog posts.

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About Me

I began searching for my family in 1994. In the winter, I teach beginner and intermediate Genealogy in Sarasota, Florida. Right now, I am nurturing a career as a speaker and lecturer.
I am on the board of my Florida genealogy society and co-leader of its United Kingdom Special Interest Group. As a break from my genealogy, I researched the friends and neighbors of 'Silent Cal' for my book titled, Calvin Coolidge: At Home in Northampton.